This invention relates to certain phenyl-piperazine derivatives which are anti-arrhythmia agents useful for the treatment of cardiac conditions.
The compounds of the invention prolong the duration of the action potential in cardiac muscle and conducting tissue, and thereby increase refractoriness to premature stimuli. Thus, they are Class III anti-arrhythmic agents according to the classification of Vaughan Williams (Anti-Arrhythmic Action, E. M. Vaughan Williams, Academic Press, 1980). They are effective in atria, ventricles and conducting tissue both in vitro and in vivo and are therefore useful for the prevention and treatment of a wide variety of ventricular and supraventricular arrhythmias including atrial and ventricular fibrillation. Because they do not alter the speed at which impulses are conducted, they have less propensity than current drugs (mostly Class I) to precipitate or aggravate arrhythmias, and they also produce less neurological side effects. Some of the compounds also have positive inotropic activity and therefore are particularly beneficial in patients with impaired cardiac pump function.